Kingston Schools - Bold Plan with Blinders On

The recent Kingston Schools plan to close 4 elementary schools is a Bold Plan with Blinders On...........The Blinders are giving teachers Automatic Step Raises.  We must privatize and charter-ize our public schools or in 5 years the Kingston District will be on the rocks again due to Teacher Automatic Step Raises eating up the school closing savings and breaking the budget once again.  Take the Blinders Off and see that the funding of the Kingston School district is benefitting the teachers, not the students.  With Private schools or Charter schools, the teacher's unions will have less influence.  We should pay each teacher according to their yearly performance.  Every teacher should not get the same raise.  There is no incentive for teachers to do well if they are guaranteed an Automatic Step Raise.  Please take the blinders off and save our schools, save our local economy and our children's future.

Health Alliance Problems are Screaming Lawsuit

The main reason Health Alliance has severe red ink is the $10 Million Medicare Reimbursement Unfairness with Dutchess County.  This year and going back at least 8 years, Ulster County's hospitals get reimbursed $10 Million less than Dutchess County for the same proceedures.  The federal government, ie. Congress and the President have damaged Ulster County in the Medicare Reimbursement laws on the books.  Over the past 8 years, our politicians of both parties have failed big time to correct this unfairness.  As a direct result of this unfairness, one of the hospital campuses might close. There has been severe ($80 Million) damage done to the citizens of Kingston and Ulster County over the past 8 years by the Federal government.  This situation screams for a lawsuit by Health Alliance against the Federal Government.

Our public schools are sinking like Titanic

The Triborough Amendment, which destroys Collective Bargaining with teacher unions and all municipal unions.  For example with Triborough in place, teacher union contracts always start with the last signed contract as a floor.  These unions rarely give concessions unless they get something back.  If you get rid of Triborough, each contract could give the school districts and taxpayers a clean sheet to write a new sensible budget.  HOWEVER, school districts do not have to wait for repeal of the Triborough Amendment..........They can get rid of step pay raises for seniority which kick in every year.  In the Kingston Schools, step raises increase the budget by
$1.2 Million each year...........So what do we have to look forward to if we do not reign in teacher's unions......more closing of schools, less teachers and eventual bankruptcy of our school districts.

Teacher Union Raises Force Schools to Close

Let's be honest with ourselves. Keep giving automatic annual step raises to teachers, and your children and grandchildren will continue to suffer with school closings and consolidations.  The teacher's unions are slowly destroying our school districts right before our eyes.  Look at what they are proposing in the Kingston district.  They want to split up a families elementary children across 2 schools, so parents will have to bring their K to 2nd grade children to one school and their 3rd grade to 5th grade children to another school.  Parents and taxpayers in Kingston better start making some noise between now and June 1st before it is too late.

Quality of Life is Kingston's secondary goal. Lower Taxes are primary.

Quality of Life is a secondary goal.  Kingston's and Shayne Gallo's primary goal is to negotiate very lean union contracts which will allow substantial property tax decreases over the next 3 years.  Without property tax decreases, the business and residential property tax rates will both continue to chase businesses and residents out of Kingston.  Since IBM left Kingston 16 years ago, nothing has been done to structurally fix the union contracts to match Kingston's 2012 population which is much less affluent.  We will reserve judgement on Shayne Gallo's progress when the first union contract terms are made public.  In many ways, Kingston's taxpayers should be clamoring for affordable union contracts and lower property taxes instead of being distracted by "quality of life".  The demographics of Kingston's population is eroding.  Time is running out for Kingston.

Open Post to Tony Adamis - Kingston Freeman Editor

Thanks for shining light on the facts about the unsustainable contracts and pensions that the local taxpayers are paying for. We the taxpayers would like more light shined on the secret talks between the unions and City of Kingston and with the Kingston School District. I know you have unsuccessfully tried to get into the negotiations so you can report back to we taxpayers what is being discussed about contracts with unaffordable giveaways before it is too late. It is too late after the first draft of the contract is agreed to and reported to the public. Let's be honest. This secret negotiation nonsense is just a ploy to promote politicians and union leaders at the expense of taxpayers. This is why NY State is last in growth and economic development. Can you suggest what we taxpayers can do to force the contract negotiation process to be opened up to newspaper reporters so you can tell us what is going on? "

Helpless in Kingston

Parents and taxpayers have the deck stacked heavily against them.  It is difficult to get just one conservative elected to the Kingston School Board, much less a majority of 5 needed to change anything.  Look how public opinion on reducing health benefits, eliminating step raises, and keeping Meagher School open, moving 9th Grade to the Middle Schools to allow neighborhood elementary schools to stay open, etc. are all IGNORED by the Kingston School Board and administration.  We parents and taxpayers feel HELPLESS IN KINGSTON AND IN NY.  Bottom-line, we need NY State legislature to promote school choice and competition by giving parents school vouchers to all parents to send their kids to any public, private, parochial school.  That is how you involve parents.  Give them a voucher and let them study and select a school for their children, just like parents and children select colleges.